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Monday, February 28, 2011

This weekend we camped out at a friend's house for their 40th Birthday Party. When we go there we pitched our new 6 man tent in the backyard, pumped up the air mattress and we were ready to party! We wasting no time jumping straight in the pool to cool off and played around underwater with the camera. There were so many bodies in the water splashing about. This is what a hot Aussie summer is all about. They had an amazing pool set up with a swim up bar and stools in the water to perch on while you have a drink. The barman served slushy cocktails for the ladies and beers for the men. A live band set up at one end of the pool and played live music while we were playing around in the water singing along to some classic 80s songs. Inbetween sets a DJ was cranking music all day and night. Now that was an adults pool party!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

I fell in love with the bright green cushions in this photo and for months and months I've had my heart set on finding that same shade of green in a rug for the now finished living room.

But alas it was not meant to be rugs are just not made in that colour (trust me I've looked in every rug store about 3 times over!). So in the end I had to compromise and opted for this lighter shade of green instead.

I didn't want a rug with a pattern as I thought it would compete with other colours in the room like in the art or cushions (when I get them!) whereas plain is a good solid background colour. The rug I picked is below, as you can see it has a border of thick shag and the inside is soft and plush. Its a fun contrast.

Yes it does look a bit like grass (it's ok you can say it!) but I think it will be a really striking contrast against the jarrah floorboards and the dark leather couches. Now I'm on the hunt for all things pistachio to bring the colour scheme together (thanks Bright.Bazaar for directing me to a name other than lime green!)

Friday, February 25, 2011

This week I organised for my work social club to go to the theatre (yes being the club co-ordinator does have its advantages like suggesting events!). We booked the entire row, sat back and waited to see what My Bicycle Loves You was all about.

What an imaginative production. Its set in the 1900s and had a backdrop of old black and white movies and hauntingly beautiful singing with a jazz band playing at the front of stage. There were acrobatics with ladders, ropes and videos popping up through the whole set made it constantly entertaining. I didn't know where to look at the screens or at the actors. What a really unique show.

There are some great events happening with the Perth Festival so if you get a chance to check them out, there's something for everyone music, theatre, dance, and a few freebies thrown in too.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

I always have to have a holiday planned for the year ahead so it's something for me to save for and gets me through the stress of my job and the hard work I put in to know that I'm working towards having a well deserved break.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Saturday night I got my groove on and went to a Retro Party for a friends "Anniversary of Birth Observance" - yes that means Birthday! I found the funkiest retro apron at Spotlight this week for a crazy $6 so decided to base my outfit around that and go as a Domestic Godess. Unfortunately I can't take credit for the prop, the hostess with the mostess made this cute fellar out of watermelon and limes and it was meant to have cheese and olives on toothpicks stuck into it but I got to it too late! I love dress up parties, its such a great conversation starter and when everyone is walking around in character its always a good laugh. I don't know how many times I got told to get back in the kitchen!

To see what everyone else has been up to this weekend pop over to Fat Mum Slim for some more Point and Shoot.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

It came with a full page information sheet which states its not really an indoor plant and should be left outside under a patio (bugger) and it needs to be watered EVERY day (double bugger). I'm not a green thumb by any means (just ask my herbs they seem to shiver when I walk up to them now!) so I hope I can keep this tree of love alive and well. For now its staying inside so I can admire it each day, its got a good spot in the kitchen next to the window so it'll get enough daylight and near the sink so I really have no excuse to forget to water it.

If anyone has a Bonsai I'd be very grateful for any tips from you to help keep this baby alive!

Monday, February 14, 2011

On Sunday we had a family do down by the River, for Pete's Dad, Sister-In-Law, and 2 nieces Birthdays.﻿ There was lots of cake and sweet juicy watermelon being passed around. It was another hot summery day and it was gorgeous to be down by the water. The boat was out on the water and the kids kept coming back all wet and smiles after going out on the sea biscuit .... if only I'd remembered my bikini I would've been out there too!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

At last count I had about 70 pairs of shoes which apparently is a bit too many. So I did a bit of a clear out and managed to cull down to 54 pairs.

The reason for the cull is theres nowhere in the house to store them!

Yes this is the culled pile!

They won't fit in the wardrobe in the bedroom, because we designed it to fit as many clothes as possible with a double hang system which meant there wasn't room for shoes too.

Luckily we have great storage in this house and right next to the master bedroom is the hallway which has double cupboards - 1 has shelves and is used for linen and 1 has a shelf and rail used as a coat cupboard.

As I've gushed about before here and here, I had the bright idea of converting the coat cupboard into my very own shoe cupboard.

The hallway cupboards on left - Bedrooms off to the right

This is the linen cupboard (we were restoring the floorboards here)

This is the coat cupboard - Soon to be shoe cupboard!

We painted the hallway about 6 months ago but the cupboards and floorboards hadn't been tackled yet so when we painted the living room over the Christmas break, we also prepped the cupboard, pulled out the rail, filled in the holes, painted on an undercoat and give it a lick of paint Mountain Peak to match the walls, sanded and sealed the floorboards and it was ready for the shelving.

We measured up the cupboard and figured out how many shelves we could squeeze in there with enough gap between to get the shoes out. We checked out the shelving kits in Bunnings and ended up going with Rubbermaid - We bought 7 shelf kits (2 shelfs in each), 2 heel kits and 2 baskets.

﻿

Before - Preparing the cupboard

After - All painted and ready for shelving

The Rubbermaid shelves were really easy to install.

There were 3 pieces of frame, which got drilled into place using a spirit level to make sure they're straight, then the shelves slotted into the frame with a bracket and you move them up and down until your happy with the position.

The big baskets went in the bottom for flat shoes and thongs and then the heel kits for the stilletoes to sit on, then the rest of the shelves﻿ for the other flat shoes.

Once the shelves were in I had a play around to see what would fit - starting with the flats on the top and working down to the heels.

I sat some shoes on top of the other so I could fit 11 pairs a shelf, the wedges and heels I had to sit side by side so could only fit 6 across.﻿

The boots fit along the very top Jarrah wood shelf, even the uggies.

And yes I am sharing ... Pete has his own top shelf and a basket. The best bit .... there's still room for a few more pairs HELLO SALES!

It's not quite finished yet, I want to hang a full length mirror on the inside door, install a light, replace the handles and wallpaper the outside of the doors with some beautiful paper we bought in Amsterdam last year.

I do feel very Carrie Bradshaw everytime I open the doors and look inside!What do you think of my DIY Shoe Cupboard?

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

These flowers I picked up from one of the florists on Beaufort St, the yellows (not sure what they're called) were $5 and the sticks $1 which help to fill out the bunch.

How adorable is this owl vase? I picked it from Allure (also on Beaufort St) thinking it would make a quirky pen holder but unfortunately its too deep for that. Theres something about white glossy ornaments that I just can't walk past at the moment .... my collection is growing shamelessly!

Monday, February 7, 2011

﻿Saturday﻿ was all about shop shop shopping! Rug hunting, furniture shopping for a glass coffee table and mirrored side table and admiring light fittings (why do I always want the expensive ones not on sale?), Bunnings for wallpapering supplies (oh yes more on that later!). Then we popped into the Markets for a nice strong coffee and a walk around the stalls. I was admiring the bonsai trees and made some hints about Valentines Day (wouldn't that be a romantic gift nurturing a little tree to grow). We left with bags full of fresh fruit, veggies and herbs and went home and made the most delicious chicken and salad burger.

Welcome to Jarrah Jungle, a blog about the adventures of renovating a 1960s house and turning it into a home. This is my place to share all things homely, DIY, decorating, recipes and entertaining. When I’m not renovating I write regular book reviews and travel musings. Thanks for stopping by!

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